Draft-equalizer.



G. S. DUFFIN, DRAFT EQUALIZER. APPLICATION FILED mmzs, I917.

Patented. Mar. 12, 1918.

' '3 SHEETS'SHEETI- WITNESS-ES ATTORNEY G. S. DU'FHN'.

DRAFT EQUALIZER. APPLICATION man I'MB. 23. m1.

1,258,755. Patented Mal-12,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY e. s. mum- DRAFT EQUALIZER. APPLICATION FILED MAR- 23, I911.

1,25,755. Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- INVENTOR ATTORNEY GEORGE S. DUFFIN, OF MILLERSBURG, INDIANA.

DRAFT-EQUALIZER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented M31. 12, 1918.

Application filed March 23, 1917. Serial No. 156,961.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. DUFFIN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at This invention relates to draft equalizers,

and is designed to be used as a connecting medium between an animal-drawn vehicle or machine and the animals which draw the vehicle or machine. he device may becOnsidered an extension or. continuation of or an improvement on the equalizer on which" I was granted the Oct. 1st, 1912. v

The primary object of the invention,

Patent #1',040,174, issued therefore, is to provide certain improve ments, not provided in said patent, and un known to me prior to this inventlon. A

- further object is to provide a device of this character which will result in the maximum efficiency in utilizing and distributing the power exerted bv the draft animals.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of this character that isv comparativelysimple of construction, strong, durable, thoroughly practical, comparatively inexpensive and entirely automatic in its operation. i

Various other objects and advantages will become apparent from an understanding of the following description.

These objects are attained by such means as are shown in their preferred form and environment in the accompanying drawings, described in the following description and particularly recited in the appended Claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein like characters designate like parts throughout the several views Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing my invention as in its preferred embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of an improved connecting link that comprises part of my'present invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3'-8 of Fig. 1',

v Fig. 4. is a view, in side elevation, of a portion of the device as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is atopplan view of my invention as embodied in a modified form;

I Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 1 66 of Fig. 5; and i Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 77 of Fig. 5.

In reducing my invention to practice, I provide the supporting structure or frame 10, of the horse-drawn vehicle or machine with spaced bearings 11 and 12, respectively, that are designed to support a movable rod, rock lever or reacting crank-shaft 13, which has its endportions bent in opposite directions and at right angles to its intermediate portion so as to form crank arms 14 and 15. The ends of the respective crankarms 14. and 15, may be formed into suitable eye portions 16 for connecting respectively with a bearing 17 and link 18 by means of pivots 19; the other end of the bearing being movably connected with the supporting structure 10, through the medium of a spacing member 20 and an eyedoolt 21; and the other'end of the link 18 is pivotally connected to the lower armof a vertically disposed lever 22 as at 23. The lever 22 is in turn pivotally mounted on the supportingstructure or frame'lO, as at' 24:, whereby said lever may be utilized in the capacity presently described.

As will be noted, upon referring to Fig. at, the bearing 17 is out out substantially intermediate its ends as at 25 to form an overhanging retaining shoulder 26 and to the other equalizer members hereinafter A link 29 has its intermediate mentioned. portion passed through a suitable aperture in the upper end of the lever22, as shown in Fig. 1, and has its respective eye portions 30 secured to the intermediate portion of the side-draft bar 27, as'at 31, thereby cooperating with the arms 14 and 20 for adequately supporting the side-draft, bar and '10, through the medium of a n'oviding for movement thereof at certain times such will presently appear.

Adjacent to its free end, the side-draft bar 27 may be provided with a suitable wl'iifiletree (as in Fig. 5) to which one of the draft animals may be hitched in the usual manner.

From. the foregoing, it will. be seen that upon turning the crank-shaft or rod13 and swinging the crank arm 14 and lever 22, the sidedraft bar will moved either forwardly or rearwardly, consistent with the direction of movement of the said arni ind lever.

I further provide the supporting structure with ahanger or hearing which is fixed in plaee by a bolt 33. l he stipport carries a vertical lever 3.4:, which is movable about its pivot at its upper end, the v .rtical lever is provided with an aperture 36 to receive a pivot or pin 87 which extend through the bifurcated end 38,01 a link 39, as clearly shown in Fi 1.

An inclined or diagonal lever -10 is pivotally supported on the supporting structure bracket *llzl (see Fig. 3). Said lever 4-0 has connection at one end iti the link 39, by a pivot #22,

' and its other end extends through a receivr it *- tree of ordinal-v construction.

ing aperture or slot of the horizoi'ltal con nection link 18. Consequently, when sulficient forward pressure is applied to the lower end of the vertical lever Set, the same is moved about its pivot. 35, so as {O impart a rearward movement to the connected end of the inclined lever i0, through the medium of the link 2:39. and thereby cause forward movement of the link 18 and of the lower end of the lever 22 and turn the rod or crank shaft '13, and consequently effect rearward moven'ient of the side-dra ft bar 27.

A clevis l-l is mounted on the lower end portion of the vertical lever 34:, shown in Fig. 1-, and this clevis supports a double- Equali ing levers l6 and l? respectii l v are PlW otally mounted, as at 48, upon the double tree l5, their outer ends carrying linhg 4;?) which in turn support the whiiiletrces 50. Adjacent their inner ends, the lovers 4L6 and are provide; with longitudinal slots 51.. which receive studs 52 of a yoke or ll-shaped link the latter arriving a link 54: for su porting another whiffletree As the principle involved in the threehorse evener or equalizing mechanism, represented by numerals L4 to 55 inclusive, is the same as that of my Patent #LOlOdT l, previously mentioned, I will omit a specific description of its operation, but will show how it cooperates with the higher-level draft of the lever exceeds three-fourths of the total power or pull exerted by the four draft anin'n-ils,-then the upper end of the lever 3% is moved rearward and swings the pivotally connected end of the inclined lever 40 rearward so as to move the other end of said lever n) forward. 'lhis movement of the lever l0 shiftsthe low 1' ends of the lever and ari'n 15 forward, the .eby (through the medium of the link 29 and arm 14-) shifting the link 17 and. sidedlraft bar 27 rearward and thus imposin more of the load on the animal hitched to the side-draft bar and relieving the other three animals proportionately.

(in too other hand, if the side-draft animal exerts more than one-fourth (its proportion) of the pull,this excess pull on the side-draft bar moves the latter forward relative to the frame 10, thereby swinging "the lever 3 through the HIGCllllll'l of the men:-

bers 29, 22, 18, 10 and 39, so as to draw the.

three-horse evener rearward relative to the frame 10 and load thereon. This relative movement relieves the sidedraft animal by shifting a portion of the excess of its lead to the other three animals, whose proportion of pull is also equalized by the three-horse V .vener above referred to.

It is to be noted that the member 27 does not act in the capacity of a. lever, but that it moves bodily from one horizontal line to another horizontal line parallel with the first said horizontal line. In other words,- the bar 27 is mounted for equal forward movement of both of its ends, and for equal. rearward. movement of both of its ends.

In Fig. 5, 6 and 7, I have shown a slightli modified form of my invention, wherein. means are provided to substitute that form of means shown in the other forms to move the draft bar forwardly and rear- .vardly. In the present embodiment, l equip the supporting structure 10 with suitable spaced. bearings 56 and 57 whichsupport a countcrshaft 58, as shown in Fig. 5, the lat ter projecting to each side of the bearings, as clearly shown. Sheave wheels 59 and 50 are keyed to the shaft 58 at suitable points, while flexible cables (31 and 62 are mounted to operate about the wheels or drums, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. The

bar :4 unwinding rotation of tion of the counter shaft 58 in this manner will, therefore, cause the winding of the cable 62 on the respective drum (30 which will in turn act on the extension of the draft bar to move the latter forwardly, consistent with the other end. Thus it will be noted that the draft bar will be adjusted. uniformly at all times. On the other hand, when the increases, the vertical lever 34 will be rocked so as to move the adjacent end of the draft bar rcarwzudly thereby increasing the rearward strain on the whii'lietree 68. this operation occurs, theslack-of the cable 61 will be taken up bythe rotation of the shaft 58 and drum or wheel 59, through the iustrumentality of the arm 63 while the cable 62 is being unwound from the wheel or drum 60.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the advanta es and novel features of my inven tion Will. be readily understood and therefore further detail description is deemed unnecessary.

lu reducingmy invention to practice, 1 find that the form referred to herein as the most practical and preferred embodiment is the most efficient, but realizing that certain conditions will necessarily vary in concurrence with the adoption of my device, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in the details of construction and in the proportion of parts may be resorted to when required without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A drift equalizer consisting of a supporting frame, a vertically disposed lever supported on said frame, a. lower draft device supported by the lowerend of said vertically disposed lever, a second vertically disposed lever which is supported on said frame, an upper draft member horizontally disposed and pivotally connected to the second said lever, meanscooperating with said second lever in supporting said horizontally disposed draft member in movable relation to said frame, and a lever inclined to the horizon and operatively connected to the first and second said vertically disposed levers so as to effect relative movement of draft on the whiffietrees 5i) and hen said lower draft device and said horizontal draft member. 7

2'. A draft equalizer consisting ofa supporting frame, a vertically disposed lever supported on said frame, a lower draft device supported by the lower end ofts-aid vertically disposed lever, a second vertically disposed lever which latter is supported onsaid frame, an upper draft member horizontally disposed and pivotally connected to the 5 second. said lever, means co6perating with said second lever in supporting said horizon tally disposed draft memberjin movable relation to said frame, a third lever which latter extends at an angle to the first said lever to said'second lever I 3. Adi-aft equahzer consistmg of a supporting frame, a vertically disposed lever supported on said frame, a lower draft (19- vice supported by the lower end of said vertically disposed lever, a second vertically disposed lever which latter is supported on said frame, an upper draft member horizonvtally disposed and pivotally connected to the second said lever, means cooperating with said second lever in supporting said horizontally disposed draft member in movable relation to said'frame, a third lever which latter extends at an angle to the first said lever and is operatively connected thereto, a link operatively connecting s'aid'third lever to said second lever, said link also being operatively connected to said means so as to cooperate therewith and with said secondlever in effecting the relative movement of the thereof, a horizontally disposed side-draft bar having one end supported by said up-v standing arm, a link connecting said depending arm to the second said lever, and movable supporting means connected to said side-draft bar at a point intermediate of its ends.

5. In a draft equalizer, the combination with a supporting frame adapted to be drawn forward, a vertically disposedlever mounted on the front end of said frame and movable in the vertical plane extending from front to rear of said frame, a crank shaft journaled on said frameand having adepcnding arm and an upstandingarm, an upper draft member pivotally'fconnected to said upstanding arm, an auxiliary supporting element pivotally connected to one side of said frame and to said upper draft member so as to cooperate with said upstanding arm in. supporting one end portion of said ward with relation to said supporting frame in consequence of forward movement of the lower draft member relative to said frame. 6. The combination with a frame adapted to be moved forward, of a lower draft mem-- ber movably connected to the middle front portion of said frame and adapted to be moved backward and forward relative to said frame, a side draft member pivotally connected to opposite sides of said frame in such manner as to be movable forward and backward relative to said frame, a connecting medium whereby the pivotal supports of said upper draft member are limited in their movement relative to one another so that both ends of the upper draft member move equi-distantly, and an actuating medium connecting the lower draft member and the pivotal supports of the upper draft member in such relation that a movement of either, of said draft members in one direction effects movement of the other of said draft members in the opposite direction;

7. In a draft equallzer, the combination with a supporting frame adapted to be 7 moved forward, of a lever pivotally connected to the front part of said frame and being disposed at an angle'to the horizon, a lower draft device operatively connected to one end of said lever and adapted to swing the other end of said lever rearward,

an upper draft member pivotally supported on said frame above the first said draft member, a second lever disposed at an angle to the horizon and carried by said frame rearward of the first said lever, a link connect ing one end of the first said lever to one end of the second said lever, and a link connecting the second said lever to the pivotal supporting means of the said upper draft member, whereby the movement of said lower draft device in one direction effects movement of said upper draft member in'the opposite direction relative to said frame.

8. In a draft equalizer, the combination with a-frame adapted to be moved forward, of a lever pivotally mounted to swing in a plane extending from front to rear of said frame, a multiple-animal draft device mounted on said lever in such relation. as to apply the drawing force of several draft animals directly in front ofsaid frame, supporting elements pivotally mounted. on opposite sides of said frame, a side draft device movably forward movement of said multiple-animal draft device. 7

9. In a draft equalizer, the combination with a frame adapted to be moved forwardly, of awmultiple animal draft device movably connected to the middle front portion of said frame so as to be movable forward and'rearward, a side draft member having one end portion extending crosswise of the frame and having its other end extending a considerable distance beyond a side of said frame, a plurality of supporting members pivotally connected to said frame and to said side-draft member so as to support the latter in movable relation to said frame, means connecting the pivotal supporting membersrso that they can move only in unison with one another in the same direction, and a lever operatively connected to said connecting medium and to the said multiple-animal draft device, whereby movement of the latter in one direction effects movement of said side draft member in the opposite direction.

10. In an equalizer, the combination with a frame adapted to be moved forward, a three-horse evener, a vertical lever pivotally connected at one end to saidevener and pivotally supported by the front end of'said frame, a one-animal draft member, supports pivotally connected to said frame and to said one-animal draft member for supporting the latter in a horizontal position in a plane above said evener, a connecting medium between the pivotal supports of said one-animal draft membenand a lever operatively connected to said connecting medium and to the first said lever in such relation that when the forward pull of the one-animal draft member exceeds one-fourth of the total pull exerted on said evener and draft memher, the latter will move bodily forward and thereby cause said evener to move bodily rearward with relation to said frame 11. In a draft equalizer, the combination with. a frame adapted to be drawn forward, a vertical lever pivotally mounted on the front end of said frame, a lower draft device supported on the lower end of said direction causes movement of the upper draft 1o lever, a draft member horizontally disposed member in the rearward direction.

in a plane above said lower draft device, a In testimony whereof I ailiX my signature shaft mounted to turn on said frame, means in presence of two Witnesses.

' operatively connecting said upper draft GEORGE S DUFFIN member to said shaft, and means operatively i connecting said upper draft member to the lVitnesses:

upper end of said lever, whereby movement A. E. NowELLs, of said lower draft device in the forward F. H. GARY.

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